Graphics Card or Xbox 360

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:18 am

Well if i give my parents my money they will help me pay for a graphics card or an Xbox 360. Also note this will be Christmas time. So what would you guys recommend graphics card or 360??

jones · Post by **jones** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:28 am

Depends on what games you want/like to play.

Nonsense Man · Post by **Nonsense Man** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:28 am

Well I like pretty much every genre except sports games.

jones · Post by **jones** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 9:57 am

Well of course I'm going to say to go with an Xbox 360. I've always been into console gaming though and never found an interest in PC gaming beyond the Simcity and Civilization games, or just strategy games in general.

Here's a copy of my post in a similar thread started by v3ndetta.

jones wrote:As far as whether or not to buy a 360 there are so many reasons to buy one it is hard to know where to begin.

A large number of great titles already available. (Oblivion, Lost Planet, Viva Pinata, Dead Rising, Gears of War, Forza Motorsport 2, Graw 1 and 2, Rainbow Six Vegas, Lego Star Wars 2, etc.)

Xbox Live - If you like online gaming then this should be a huge factor in your decision. Friends lists, chat, video chat, downloadable movie rentals, etc. There's so much more, but I'll split out the significant ones below.

Downloadable Game Demos - For me this was huge. It is great to be able to "try before you buy" so to speak. Something PC gamers have benefitted from for years and now the console world gets to enjoy this benefit as well.

Xbox Live Arcade - A wide variety of downloadable games. Everything from Lumines to the original TMNT arcade game can be found here. Plus there are a bunch of original games such as Heavy Weapon and Outpost Kaloki X available to buy. All games have been enhanced to have online multiplayer as well. The games typically range between 5 and 10 dollars. The arcade has turned out to be one of the pleasant surprises of the Xbox 360 experience.

Achievements - They sound silly at first, but once you get a 360 and hear that unlock sound a few times you become strangely addicted. At least that was the case for me. It's always fun to check out your friends list and see what achievements others have locked. This has been a huge deal for the 360 although they never expected it to be anything more than a blip on the radar at launch.

HD DVD - If you have an interest in this you can always choose to buy the add-on player later on. Or if you don't want it then don't get it. The choice is yours!

Great Games Coming Out This Fall - You already mentioned your interest in Halo 3. In addition to that there will also be Blue Dragon, Bioshock, Mass Effect, PGR 4, Half Life 2: Orange Box, Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band, Call of Duty 4, etc. It's going to be an expensive few months coming up!

And now there's just one thing left to do...

GET IN THERE!!!

Rekarp · Post by **Rekarp** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:20 am

jones pretty much nailed the head on the 360. I would personally go with a 360 as I don't own one myself but then again my PC is a pretty kickass machine (bit dated tho).

/nudge get a Wiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!! (lol)

Speaking of which. I wish the Wii had Achievements and the like.

Jongamer · Post by **Jongamer** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 3:49 pm

Achievments screwed my friend up, cuz since hes got his 360 thats all he cares about all he got his 360, he does`nt do ANYTHING else, but go to his dad`s house every other weekend watch tv and eat.

Gears of war on live and achievments.

Before he got a 360 he would accually go for a bike ride everyday, now I dought he does it once a month.

Master of Portables · Post by **Master of Portables** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 4:17 pm

Thats one obsessed friend you got there, Jongamer...

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 4:29 pm

What are your computer's current specs? Is it an awesome setup with a crap graphics card, or is it all fairly good? If the graphics card is the only thing in your computer that is holding you back from playing newer games, get that. If your computer also needs a new cpu, ram, etc, get a 360.

So Many Kinds of Bagels · Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:08 am

What kind of graphics card? Unless your graphics card is holding you back extremely from playing some games, I'd get a 360. I guess. I'm a PC guy, but I'm starting to realize you can't catch up with technology.

cowsgoquack101 · Post by **cowsgoquack101** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 1:17 am

Being a PC only gamer right now, I'd say get that. Unless you really need to play Halo 3. I'm sure you'll know about 3 people with it. Otherwise everything else is coming out on PC/360. Except for Crysis and Hellgate (both PC).

Valium · Post by **Valium** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:32 am

Keep in mind that a PC can't do more than 1 player easily.

Twisted Warthog · Post by **Twisted Warthog** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:38 am

I heard somewhere that Crysis is going to have better graphics then the 360 or PS3. But its got a massive graphics thing going on so you need a amazing computer to run it.

XPCportables · Post by **XPCportables** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:13 pm

I vote graphics card. Half-Life 2 Episode 2 is right around the corner, and episode 3 cant be too far off. How could you resist popping it in and maxing every possible setting without even a hair of lag. Oh yeah and there are also games like Crysis, and of course Gears of War, but the important ones are the Half-Life 2 episodes.

THON · Post by **THON** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 6:52 am

Buy a Macbook pro. Loads of RAM and a great card. Bootcamp FTW!

lifeisbetterwithketchup · Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:27 am

THON wrote:Buy a Macbook pro. Loads of RAM and a great card. Bootcamp FTW!

Because one of those costs just as much as a good graphics card or an Xbox 360.